Pagina's

Via Trouw (NL) we learn that Second Chamber has passed a motion asking our government to introduce mandatory labelling of halal meat products. According to parliament, consumers should be enabled to recognize meat from animals slaughtered in islamic fashion. According to the author of the motion, Dion Graus (PVV), the labelling is aimed at consumers who do not want to inadvertently eat meat from animals that were not anaesthetized before slaughter.

The motion follows in the wake of a number of incidents where halal products stealthily replaced regular products. See here for a flashback. Additionally there have been persistent rumours that in some Dutch supermarket chains all mutton and beef is now halal, because keeping separate slaughter lines is too expensive. Though this, to my knowledge, has never been confirmed, it has not been denied either. Evidently our merchants hoped that by staying mum, consumers would just accept being force-fed halal products. The motion of today put a firm dent in that overly cunning plan.

The problem of halal-by-stealth is not limited to the Netherlands of course, as the following video item will demonstrate.